Around the Campfire
by daenabenjen42
Summary: Jag and Alema, post Dark Nest... and others, story result of a challenge.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Around the Campfire

Author: DaenaBenjen42

Timeline: Post Dark Nest Trillogy (somewhat AU)

Genre: drama

Summary: Alone together, two characters talk.

~*~*~*~

The forest was never quiet, not even in the long hours of the night. All the screeching and the rustling and the far-off yowling of an animal or two… listening to it made her edgy, almost nervous.

"Isn't this nice?" the male voice asked, intruding into her thoughts from the othe side of the camp fire. "All those sounds of life out there, moving around and…"

"Being noisy," she muttered, interrupting him.

"Well, yes, but I find it relaxing to listen to." He studied her thoughtfully for a moment. "I thought Jedi liked the sound of nature."

"Well I don't." And then she looked away from him.

"Jedi Rar?" he asked, concerned.

"It's nothing, Colonel."

"Sure it is… tell me?"

She shook her head, still not looking at him. "Not important."

"I understand if you'd rather not talk about it, but…" he let the sentence hang there between them, unfinished, waiting. Only the sound of the fire popping and crackling punctuated the silence

Now she looked at him. "But what?"

"I think you need to talk about it if it's hurting you."

She looked away again and shrugged. "It's not."

"I don't believe you."

They were silent for a few minutes as he waited her out and she pointedly ignored him. Finally, she broke the silence with a heavy sigh. "Good times sounded like this."

"Good times?"

"You know… before."

"Before what?" He knew some of it, but wanted her to explain.

"Before…" She said again, her eyes distant and wistful. "…before."

He watched her carefully as she stood up, almost in a daze, and turned to gaze out into the darkness. "Jedi Rar?"

"Numa. I miss her," she said a minute later when she turned back to him. "The forest reminds me of good times on Yavin4."

"Ah." He patted the patch of ground beside himself. "Want to talk about it?"

She regarded him with hooded eyes for a moment before moving around the campfire to sit closer to him. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because, Gorog influence or no, you are still a person."

It was in that moment, as she saw the utter honesty in Colonel Jagged Fel's eyes, that Jedi Alema Rar began to trust again.

Fini


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Potential for Disaster  
Author: DaenaBenjen42  
Characters: Luke, an OC... a few cannon characters...  
Timeframe: NJOish (AU... how much? Well... this isn't the normal L/M...)  
Notes: There was a challenge involved... :) (Some requirements of the challenge: a Jedi in a green sequined robe, a stink bomb, a hutt-run catering company, and the word 'serendipity.')

Disclaimer: Star Wars owned by other persons. Am playing in the sandbox.

* * *

She stood at the window watching the traffic patterns and thinking. Was it time for her parents to meet the love of her life? Would they accept him? Would they be able to see past the older, hardened exterior and see what she saw in him?

Glancing over to the man dozing while 'reading' on the couch, she smiled lovingly. He was so cute when he slept like that.

Turning back to the window, her eyes hardened at the thought of her mother and father. If they didn't except him, then it didn't matter. Love was love, no matter the form.

An hour later, she was still standing there, deep in thought, when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulders. "They're going to be here tomorrow, you know."

She could hear the smile in his tone when he spoke. "I know that, Tarma."

"This isn't going to be easy. Not for any of us." She turned her head to look at him, and saw those blue eyes she loved so much.

"It'll be worth it, though."

"Yes... I love you. You know that, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. I love you too."

They were silent as they watched the traffic patterns for couple minutes, then Tarma turned to look at him again. "Luke?"

"Yes, Tarma?"

"What about your family?"

"What about them? They love you and they're happy we found each other."

"Leia wasn't."

He sighed. "Leia got over it."

"Well, yes, but before that, she really didn't like that we were together. Why would that change?"

"My happiness mattered more than semantics." He raised an eyebrow at her and they both had a chuckle.

They stood there at the window for another couple of hours, gathering their strength together to face the coming storm.

~*~*~*~

Tarma was waiting at the space port, alone, because she hadn't wanted to outright shock her parents right off, and also because Luke had had a class to teach. He could have gotten out of it, but… that felt wrong, somehow.

Every time she thought about that meeting, she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It almost felt like a warning or something. An echo of a warning, really.

So here she was, standing at the spaceport watching a ship land, and trying to think of ways to make her parents not want to kill her fiancé. No, there wasn't a single thing she could say about it to make it better. "Stang it all."

Tarma's hazel eyes narrowed as the landing wound down and the boarding ramp was lowered. There was feeling of quiet animosity emanating from the ship. Was that what she thought it was? "They've been fighting again haven't they? Double stang."

Actually, she couldn't think of a time when they weren't having some kind of argument. Most of the time they were fine together, but there were days…

Sure enough, as her parents disembarked, they were neither speaking, nor even sparing a glance to the other. As was often the case in her childhood, they were having a silent spat, and she was the lucky person who got to be in the middle of it. Again.

Tarma felt like rolling her eyes, but put on her best smile instead and greeted them formally. "Mother, father, I bid thee welcome to Coruscant."

Her father smiled wryly at her. "You don't have to fake it, Ptarmaia. Not for us."

"Sure I do, father," Tarma told him, refusing to so much as wince at the use of her given name. Breaking out of formality, she pulled both her parents - who so obviously didn't want to be within five feet of each other - into a family hug. "It's so good to see you!"

Her mother pulled out of the hug and looked around the landing area, then turned and looked seriously at Tarma. "Where's this man you've been telling us about in your letters?"

"He had other obligations today and wasn't able to come with me to greet you." Which, Tarma thought to her self, is a good thing considering the state they're in. Triple stang. For once, she was glad she hadn't been specific about his identity. "He'll be at the rehearsal dinner tomorrow, though."

"You are hiding something," her mother said after a moment, green eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"No I'm not," Tarma said as calmly as possible, remembering just in time that her mother could tell when she wasn't being truthful. "He really had an obligation."

Her mother was about to grill her with intent when her father laid a restraining hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Not now, dear heart."

"But…" she finally looked at him and saw the firm expression in his dark eyes. After a moment or so, she acquiesced. "Fine. We'll talk about it later, Tarma."

Just angry with one another, then, Tarma thought, evaluating their behavior. "Maybe."

That got her mother's attention. "What do you mean by maybe?"

"Only if the two of you sort things out. Otherwise, forget I said anything about a man being in my life."

"Giving ultimatums are we?" her father asked teasingly.

Tarma shook her head. "Making observations. Sort out your problems and maybe then we'll discuss my love life." She turned on her heel and left her parents to follow her to the speeder lot.

Following her, the man leaned in close to his wife and asked in furtive whisper, "Did she get that from you or me?"

His wife snorted in mild laughter. "Both."

"Ah."

~*~*~*~*~

"She's right, you know. Coming from a strange direction, maybe, but definitely right." He paused and glanced at his wife to find that she wasn't even paying attention to him as she brushed her hair and stared thoughtfully into thin air. "Dear heart?"

She blinked and glanced at him. "Hmm?"

"Our daughter. She's right, even if we don't like it... and I'm sorry."

She put the brush down and moved to put her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry, too. Peace?"

"Peace," he said with a soft smile as she led him to their bed and they sat down.

"Love?"

"Yes, dear heart?"

"Hold me?"

"Always."

They said nothing else for the rest of the night.

~*~*~*~

Tarma hesitated at the door of her shared apartment, feeling again that echoing sense of warning and dreading having to explain anything to anyone.

"Tarma?" a voice asked from behind her.

Tarma slowly turned to see her fiancé standing there. "Hi."

"Is everything all right?" he asked as he came closer. "Did your parents get in?"

"Everything is fine, and yes, they got in all right, but…" she turned and opened her front door and ushered him inside. Closing the door, she glanced at him thoughtfully. "I just have this nagging feeling that something is utterly wrong, and I don't know what it is."

"Wrong how?"

"Almost as if my parents being here is of the dark side."

"Tarma?"

"Yes?"

"That doesn't make any sense."

Tarma sighed. "They were fighting again. I thought it could have been that, but… the feeling hasn't gone away."

He led her to the sofa, and they sat down together. "Maybe it's the fact that the animosity created backlash and upset you?"

Tarma snorted at that theory. "No, it wasn't that. It's something else. Almost like it should be right in front of my nose, but…"

"You still can't see it?"

"Um-hmm."

Luke studied her, then sat back and closed his eyes.

"I don't think meditating on it is going to help, sweetie," Tarma muttered. She wasn't at all surprised when he opened his eyes and appeared to be frustrated.

"I see what you mean."

"Something elusive, right?"

"Right."

Tarma chuckled. He was so cute when trying to solve a confounding puzzle. "Let's worry about it later, okay? …How was rehearsal?"

"Not too bad."

~*~*~*~*~

The woman was brushing her hair in the mirror when her husband came up behind her and embraced her around the waist. "Mmm… not now, love."

He smelled her and sighed contentedly. "Yes now. We need to talk some time."

"I think we've done enough talking, love."

"No we haven't." He caught her eyes in the mirror and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you want to clear this up?"

"We already did." She glared at him. "And why are you bring it back up again? It's over and done."

"Doesn't mean you're not still hurt by it. We need to talk about it."

"No we don't." She glared at him once more before twisting out of his grasp and continuing to brush her hair. "Whether or not I had a history here doesn't matter. The fact is that it happened and it's over now."

"But…" She silenced him with another glare. "You're sure everything is fine? Because lately…"

"What?"

"Ever since Tarma mentioned she was going out with someone, it's almost seemed like you were angry about it."

She turned and looked at him in surprise. "It has?"

"Yes."

"I wasn't. Angry about her finding someone, I mean. It's not about that. It just… brings back memories that I'd rather not think about. From when we were apart."

"Oh?" He knew a little about that period of time, yes, but they'd never really talked about it. She had a run-in with someone and there'd been feelings, but that was all he knew about it.

"Different choices," she mused as she finally set the brush down. "Different paths."

"Hey," he said gently as he pulled her around to look at him. "Are you here with me or somewhere else?"

She hesitated as she looked into his eyes, then smiled slightly. "Here with you, love. Here with you."

Somehow, looking down at her, he didn't quite believe it.

~*~*~*~

In the vestibule, Tarma was standing with her fiancé and watching the door. "I still think this color is awful."

"And I still say you look beautiful in it," Luke murmured to her. "It brings out your eyes."

"Yes, well it clashes with everything else." She glanced at him and batted her eyes a few times for effect.

Luke chuckled. "Um-hmm… but on you it's a statement."

Tarma snorted. "What, like: Hi, I'm attending in an official capacity and I am not the bride."

Luke shook his head and smiled. "Give it time, Tar. You'll get to do it to other people."

Tarma considered that statement while watching people file into the hall on the arms of ushers, then glanced at him again. "Mine are going to be pink." She looked back toward the main hall again and noticed her parents come in. "Dang."

"What?"

"They're still fighting."

"How can you tell?"

"The Force hides nothing." Tarma turned to him and smiled. "I'll be back."

Luke nodded and watched her stride away purposefully. He really did like her in that color.

"Master Skywalker?" a voice asked from behind him.

Luke turned to find Tenel Ka, also in a gown like Tarma's, but also wearing a green sequined cloak. "Yes?"

"Jaina wants to talk to you."

"Is she all right?"

"I think she is."

Luke followed her away.

~*~*~*~*~

Tarma approached her parents with a fake-feeling smile plastered on her face. "Hello and welcome."

Her father turned and blinked in surprise, then studied her outfit with an appraising eye. "I didn't think you liked wearing that much green."

"Wasn't my choice, father," Tarma said flatly. She glanced at her mother… who was either planning a strategic way to get out of the hall or looking for someone. "Mother?"

Her mother blinked and looked at Tarma. "What?"

"Who are you looking for?"

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It felt like someone I haven't seen in a while was here, but… well, it's not important."

Tarma noticed that her father hadn't said a word, but was looking at his wife out of the corner of his eye. "Well, there's a good chance that whoever you're looking for is here. Maybe I can help you find them?"

"No, Ptarmaia. It can wait." She leaned into her husband with a soft smile directed at him.

"If you're sure." Tarma was perplexed at her mother's behavior until she noticed that her father relaxed into her. What was it about that that made him feel better?

"I am. He's probably off looking for lost artifacts or something anyway."

Tarma had no time to wonder about that statement, as there came a tap on her shoulder and she turned to find Tenel Ka standing there. "Hi! Already? Lead the way then, your highness." Tarma threw a wave to her parents before following the Jedi princess out.

~*~*~*~

Luke encountered Leia in the hall outside the room where Jaina was still preparing for the ceremony. He couldn't help but notice that she seemed upset. "Leia?"

"What?"

"Is something wrong?"

Leia sighed. "I had to find a caterer in less than two hours this morning because the one we had died in his kitchen yesterday due to heart failure brought on by a stink bomb. All the food was quarantined, too, because the authorities cordoned off the area."

"That's too bad. About the caterer, I mean… But you were able to find a new caterer this morning, right?"

"Yes." She looked away from him and sighed again.

"You… don't seem happy about it."

"The new caterer is a Hutt."

Luke blinked in surprise at that. "Oh."

~*~*~*~

Tarma was somewhat glad that her fiancé was not presiding over his niece's wedding. She was also glad that he was sitting in the second row and her parents were… sitting farther back than that.

She knew it, this not telling them anything, was too good to last. She was, however, enjoying not saying one word and not having to explain that she'd fallen in love with a man 20 years her senior due to his nephew's pets getting loose and some pilots who had been visiting that day.

Tarma also realized how ridiculous her demand that her parents make up before any information was shared was. Her parents, for some reason she couldn't understand, were always fighting in some form or another. So her demand was a silly attempt to just not have to tell them anything. Ever.

Presently, Tarma smiled as the bride and groom shared their first kiss as husband and wife, and then presented to the assembly by the officiator.

They were just so cute together.


	3. Chapter 3

Alema Rar sat with her companion at a table in the reception hall, his hand resting in a calming manner on her arm. She still couldn't believe that he had talked her into going to the wedding of his ex.

Well, there was that… and the fact that big formal functions, though she'd recovered from her trip to the dark side with bugs, still made her edgy and nervous.

Her companion turned and looked at her, a smile in his eyes. "Care to dance, Alema?"

"Can we just sit for a while, Jag? I'm not ready for a crowd right now."

"We've been sitting for half an hour," Jag said tiredly. "You're going to have to sometime, Alema. And I'm here to help you."

Alema considered him for a moment, then held out her hand. If he really wanted to dance, then they would dance. "Lead the way."

Jag led Alema out onto the dance floor and held her close as they danced. She slowly relaxed into his strong arms, letting his presence soothe her nerves. "Not so bad, is it?"

"That depends," Alema muttered as she watched an unfamiliar woman cross the dance floor and interrupt Master Skywalker's dance with his niece. "Is Tarma going to be upset about her boyfriend dancing with someone attractive that isn't Jaina?"

Jag frowned, and looked around the room to find Tarma. It took a minute, but he finally found her sitting at a table with the father of the bride and another man whom she bore a resemblance to. "She might not even notice."

"Why?" As Jag led a slow turn, Alema's question was answered. "Oh."

"Now aren't you glad I asked you to dance? We wouldn't have had this kind of view of things from our table."

"Gossip mongerer."

"And you love it."

As she rolled her eyes, Alema felt a sudden sense of impending doom and stopped mid-roll to glance over at Tarma again… only to find her laughing about something. No, that wasn't it. "Jag?"

"Yes?"

"Did something happen to Master Skywalker just now?"

Jag looked over that way and watched as the woman frowned and then said something in a low tone that he couldn't hear over the music. "I'm not sure, but if looks alone could kill…"

Alema was surprised when Tarma's head swung around and she looked to the dance floor with narrowed eyes, then stood up and made her way to the floor, leaving two confused men in her wake. "Strange..."

~*~*~*~

She'd been right. _It really was too good to last for very long_, Tarma thought to herself as she made her way across the dance floor to avert disaster.

Tarma tapped her mother on the shoulder and smiled when she got a glare in return. "Can I borrow Master Skywalker for a dance or two?" Her mother blinked at her, then acquiesced, leaving the dance floor without a word.

Careful to maintain decorum under prying eyes, Tarma began to dance with her fiancé. "What did you say that upset her?"

Luke was frowning as he answered. "I'm not certain. We were talking about how we've been since we last saw one another. Just talking, really. And then she seemed upset when I mentioned being happily in a relationship."

Tarma sighed. So that's what had set her off. "You do realize that was my mother, right?"

That caught his attention and he stared at her. "What?"

"You were chatting with my mother. She who is never happy and is always fighting with my father, no matter what they say to deny it," Tarma told him dryly.

"That… was your mother?"

"Yes. Why are you so shocked?"

"Because she tried to kill me once or twice."

"She did that to Dad, too." At his blank stare, she giggled. "Mother had orders to assassinate this mining colony administrator and ended up having a fling instead. The fling turned into something more, and then they had me, and then she left." Tarma shrugged. "Or that's the story, at least… I do know that the time she spent away has always been a bone of contention between the two of them."

"She was with me," Luke muttered under his breath.

"Well, really, she said she was with a trader group under someone named Karrde, but…" Tarma stopped and stared at him. "What?"

"We were close for a while."

"You… dated my mother."

Luke raised an eyebrow at her. "No. Saw her off and on. She always seemed really distant."

"But… you dated my mother?"

Luke realized that she was shocked by the information and shook his head. "No, Tarma. It was never that serious… and instead of killing me like she set out to do, she saved my life more than once. And then she left."

"Oh."

~*~*~*~*~

The man watched as his wife left the dance floor after Tarma had intervened, and got up to follow her. "I'll be back, Han old buddy."

"Right."

He followed her out into the hallway and caught up to her as she leaned against a wall. "Hey."

She didn't even look at him. "Hi."

"Want to talk about it?"

"What for? Talking won't change anything and you know it."

The man sighed. This again. "We need to talk."

"He didn't wait for me," she told him after a moment of silence.

"Huh?"

She turned and looked at him, unshed tears in her eyes. "You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"I left to find you and Tarma and he didn't wait for me. I… well, I always thought he was pining away for me, but…"

"But that's not the case, is it?" He'd been right. It was about someone.

"No. He's been teaching students for more than ten years, mostly successfully, and is now happily engaged." She glanced back at the reception that was in full swing. "It's almost sickening, in a way."

No, he thought, that's what the food is. He was silent for a minute before taking her in his arms and kissing her soundly. When they parted, she stared at him.

"What was that for?"

"Just a reminder that I love you."

"Oh…" Smiling, she pulled him into another kiss. "Thank you, love. For listening."

"Any time, dear heart. Anytime… So, should we head back to the party?"

"We really should."

~*~*~*~*~

Tarma saw her parents re-entering the reception hall and frowned. They were both smiling? At the same time? How had that happened?

"Tarma?" Luke asked when he noticed the frown.

"I think we have to tell my parents about us now."

Luke paused, then eloquently: "Huh?"

"They actually made up for once."

"They don't, usually?" He was wondering how her parents making up connecting with telling them about a relationship.

"Are you kidding?" The expression on his face belied that question. "Right. Sorry. No, usually, they don't."

"Tarma…" Luke glanced toward where she'd directed him to look and had to blink in mild surprise. "That's your father?"

"Yes." Tarma really had to wonder if he was going senile, of he'd just forgotten what her family name was.

"You know, I haven't really spoken to either one of them since Han was captured on Kessel. This should be interesting."

"That's one way of putting it. Just be glad that he calmed her down some, or… well, we'd probably both end up dead."

"That's not funny, Tarma."

"Wasn't meant to be."

~*~*~*~*~

Tarma led Luke over to where her parents were talking to Han Solo, and tried to fake a smile when her father looked at her with that expression of shrewdness that he used whenever she'd been in trouble as a child. "Master Skywalker, you remember my parents, Lando and Mara Jade Calrissian, don't you?"

Luke nodded. "Yes. It's good to see you both."

"What's with the formal introduction?" Han wondered. "I thought you two were on a first name basis..."

"General Solo," Tarma interrupted, her voice falsely pleasant. "I do believe that you haven't danced with the bride yet." She glared at him for added emphasis.

Not wanting to be caught in the middle of a family scene, and also realizing that Tarma was every bit as dangerous as her mother, Han left the table.

"That was rude, Ptarmaia," Lando told her reproachfully.

"I know that, father."

He gestured for them to sit, which they did. "So… first name basis? Or is it more than that?"

"Does it matter?" Tarma asked, still wanting desperately to dance around the subject. Then she noticed that her mother was silently glaring at her fiancé and he was staring back with that blank calm Jedi expression that she really disliked.

"She's the one you're engaged to?" Mara asked without preamble, her voice full of uninhibited venom.

"It was serendipity."

"Getting engaged is not an accident, Farmboy. Happy or otherwise. It's an intent."

Tarma sighed. "What he means, mother, is that we fell in love by accident. Some pilots he knows were on temporary leave visiting Yavin4 and Jacen's pet collection got loose. I'm sure the two events weren't totally related, but thanks to the visiting pilots, Master Skywalker here was slightly inebriated. I was helping round up the animals when we stumbled into one another."

"She was cute and holding a turtle," Luke put in unhelpfully.

"Right, and we... connected. One thing led to another and we ended up precariously dating."

"Did the turtle ever get back to Jacen?" Lando asked after a moment of silence, unwittingly breaking the tension. Even Mara had to stifle a chuckle.

"Yes, but he let me keep it." Tarma fished a holo out of a hidden pocket of her very green dress and handed it to her father. "This is, or rather was, Oscar. He didn't survive the war."

~*~*~*~

"Mara?"

"Yes, Lando?"

"You can kill him later if you want to."

Pause. "Why Lando, that is quite possibly the most romantic thing you've ever said to me."

"I'm serious."

"I know you are."

"But you're not going to."

"Didn't say that. Just taking Tarma's feelings into consideration. She'd be hurt and then there'd be moping, and she'd be angry with me for interfering in her life... and I value her feelings more than I do revenge." She shrugged. "Just because I had feelings for the man doesn't mean its wrong that they fell in love."

"But..." she put a hand to his mouth to silence him.

"Age doesn't matter and you know it... If it did, would we have gotten together?"

"Yes."

"No."

Lando looked at her curiously. "Why not?"

Mara sighed. "You're a gambling industrialist 12 years my senior and I'm a former Imperial assassin who was going to kill you because it was my duty. Perspective, Lando, is a good thing to have, isn't it?"

"In a way," he said grudgingly.

The were silent for a minute until Mara smirked at him. "And besides... if you want someone dead over this, then it should be you for agreeing with me that we should send Tarma to be trained as a Jedi."

Lando paused, staring at her. Then he laughed. "Good point."

"And Rogue Squadron for visiting Yavin4 on a day when Jacen's pet collection got loose."

"I get the point, Love."

"I'm glad…" She put her arms around his neck and smiled seductively. "So... have we talked enough, or would you like to spend another hour talking about our daughter's love life?"

He must have thought they had, because he smirked, and then kissed her senseless. "More than enough."

There was no more talking that night...

~*~*~*~*~

On the couch in Luke's apartment, Tarma smiled up at her boyfriend. "I think you've been pardoned, sweetie."

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a feeling."

Not the end...


End file.
